Have you ever been denied a raise or promotion because of the ambiguous excuse, “You need to work on your leadership.”? What about the frustration of having a boss lead you and your team with the age old, “do as I say, not as I do” principle?

I’ve experienced this and a lot more bizarre ambiguity around leadership during my time serving in the Marine Corps, working in corporate America, starting and running my own businesses, and as a loving father and family man.

And if you are reading this, I suspect you have too. So if you are counting on improved leadership to get a raise or promotion (or both!), hitting 150% of sales quota, or just having your children listen to you, consider this:

Better Decisions = Better Leadership = Better Life

Depending on what studies you read, statistics show busy professionals like you and me make a whopping 35,000 semi-conscious to conscious decisions per…….DAY! 365 days a year means over 12 million decisions annually we are faced with. There’s got to be room for improvement. And if you can improve your decision making skills, you improve as a leader, and thus, leap your career, company, and community forward exponentially.

So to help improve your decision-making prowess, and thus, expand your leadership, here is a simple tool to add to your decision-making toolbox that I often share with my audiences as a peak performance business keynote speaker: When making a decision with multiple options, run each choice through this filter, “What would have to be true for this option to be the best choice?” Next, “If-Then” your answers to death. For example, “If I hire VP of Marketing candidate X, then her salary will be Y. If her salary is Y, then she will bring these benefits to my team…” And so on.

Like anything, making better decisions that directly impact your growth and as a leader is a practice. The more you do it, the better you get.

Take Action NOW:(1) What is one decision you have been putting off making for a couple days, weeks, or months? (2) Run your options for this stalled decision through the filter, “What would have to be true for this option to be the best choice?” (3)“If-Then” your answers from #2 to death. BONUS: Get people you know and trust involved to help you answer these questions. DOUBLE BONUS: Take 30-minutes right now to work on moving that stalled decision forward. Do. It. Now. Your leadership, your raise, and promotability at work depend on it.

If you need more resources and techniques on how to make better decisions in your business and personal life, consider signing up for my Decision-Making Bootcamp. To find out more about the Bootcamp, leave a comment below or hit me up on Twitter @mpveltri — I promise to get back to you right away!

Michael Veltri is a top-rated business transformation keynote speaker with an exclusive system for making better decisions to achieve peak performance in business and life. In addition to keynote speaking, Michael is a Nationwide Bestselling author, business consultant, and leadership expert for elite organizations such as the Central Intelligence Agency and many Fortune 500 companies. As a professional athlete, battle-hardened C-Suite executive, and cancer survivor, Michael shares his message of resilience and indomitable spirit with audiences worldwide.